You Could Be My Only
by JJLives
Summary: What happens when Santana finally finds the one during a chance encounter and she stupidly let her walk right out of her life without knowing the impact it would have on her? What happens when they find each other once more?
1. Chapter 1

_REUPDATED FOR ERRORS - Oops_

_So I know, I know. I should be working on my other story and I so totally am. I just needed a little side project to straighten out the thoughts I was having. I was listening to some of my music the other day and this story just kind of was born right there and then. _

_I hope y'all enjoy it. It's not a one-shot but won't be nearly as long as Becoming Uninvisible has become. :) Love y'all._

_Oh, i am not sure if this is going to need the rating it has but it probably will. _

* * *

Santana let out another aggravated breath as her phone lit up telling her another five minutes had passed. She looked at the door of the pub she was in and then gazed around her in case she'd missed the other girl's entrance. As if the other girl could have missed her considering she was sitting almost directly in front of the entrance. It was a Wednesday evening and the pub wasn't all that busy.

"Can I get you another?"

Santana looked up at the waitress before looking down at her glass. She was honestly surprised that it was empty, _again_. It'd been her second vodka and lime so far. It wasn't really her preferred drink but was one that seemed to affect her the least; too bad she hadn't ever been one for portion control.

"Yeah, I guess." She responded after checking the time once more.

She picked up her phone and scrolled through her messages before sending yet another text, one that was slightly more aggressive than the earlier ones she'd sent over the past twenty minutes.

"Really? Don't you think that that's a little over dramatic Santana?" Santana looked up and crossed her arms over her chest when she saw her best friend standing in front of her, cell phone in hand.

"Actually I figured I was letting you off easy. I've been waiting here for-" she paused looking once again at her phone. "-thirty-two fucking minutes." She looked back to the blonde as she draped her jacket on the back of the chair across from her and sat down herself. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to sit here alone for that long?"

"It couldn't have been tha-"

"Oh no, no, no. You don't get to wave this off so fucking easy, Q." Santana leaned forward, uncrossing her arms and tapped the wood of the table in front of her with her pointer finger. "Do you have any idea how many pity looks I received from those thinking I got stood up on a date." Quinn opened her mouth but Santana quickly continued. "Do you _see_ this body?" She waved down at her figure. "This doesn't get stood up, _ever_. And no one should ever think that's a possibility."

"Oh_ please_." Quinn rebutted. "Kind of full of yourself don't you think?"

"Three." Santana held up the same number of fingers while Quinn gave her a confused look. "Three, the number of guys I've had to turn away, all of which thought I'd been stood up and-" she made quotation marks with her fingers, "-_'if I would just give them a chance I would see what I'm missing.'_ And you know how much I hate those kind of cocky bastards."

"Okay fine, you're right. I'm totally sorry. I just couldn't get away from work. My boss kept wanting to go over what to expect next week when he's away." Quinn rolled her eyes. "Like I haven't been running that damn office for the past two years. It's totally sexist of him and I had to refrain from telling him so. But to threaten to break into my apartment and steal all my dresses to give to the homeless, really? Very mature."

The waitress finally returned with Santana's drink and Quinn quickly ordered her own vodka cranberry.

"I didn't say all your dresses, just the ones that make you look like a fourteen year old girl in an Old Navy commercial." Santana shrugged her shoulders. "And I also said I was cutting them up into handkerchief sized pieces. Because let's face it, none of them would be desperate enough to actually wear any of those things as is."

"You do know what homeless means right?" Quinn asked while smiling politely at the waitress who set the drink down before silently walking away.

"Yes I do. But just because they are homeless doesn't mean they don't have any fashion sense. They're people too you know." Santana deadpanned before taking a sip of her drink.

"Whatever." Quinn waved her hand dismissively. "What's new in your life? You and Krissy still hot and heavy?"

"Ugh, no that ended like three weeks ago."

"Holy shit. Has it been that long since we've spoken." Quinn's nose wrinkled as she thought. "No, I know I called you last week. We talked about our plans for St. Patricks Day. I suggested we go out and celebrate for once, because it'd been so long since we've done that with how busy we've been." Her brow furrowed accusingly. "And you said, _'Sure, sounds good. We'll be there.'_ We, as in two of you. You didn't mention being single at the time."

"I'm sure I did." Santana responded looking anywhere but at her friend across the table.

"Nope, you sure didn't."

"Well I meant to. It's not like it was such a big deal." Santana's gaze found Quinn's once more. "We weren't even serious or anything."

"That's the problem though. It's never serious with you."

"It just never gets there, Q. They never stick around for long."

"That's because you never let them." Quinn said, raising her voice.

"I can't help that no one's worth my time."

"How long did this one even last? A week?"

"Excuse me? For your information it was eight days."

"Like that's any different." Quinn's voice rose an octave.

"Calm down, you're making a scene." Santana whispered as she lifted her empty glass towards the waitress who was leaning on the bar. She returned her attention back to Quinn when the waitress finally acknowledged her.

"I'm not making a scene." Quinn nodded to the waitress indicating she needed a refill as well. "I'm just worried about you."

"You can worry a little quieter please. Or even better, you can worry silently. Like _forever _would be good."

"Come on." Quinn's voice turned soft. "You haven't had a serious relationship in, what, three years."

"What about, gah what's her name? Vicki?" Santana said triumphantly. She knew for a fact that lasted a few months.

"You couldn't even remember her name, Santana." Quinn's response was quick and it stung. Santana winced.

"Um, Monique?" Santana shot out another name.

"The flight attendant?" Quinn asked thinking hard. She pursed her lips as she strummed her nails on the table.

"That's the one. That lasted like six months." Santana proudly stated.

"Of which she was out of the country for five. And you were sleeping with other girls during."

"She was away. I have needs." She tried to defend.

"That's not a relationship Santana. That's convenience."

"Or _inconvenience_." She tried to joke but Quinn's face remained serious. "Fine, I get it. Need to work on the whole relationship thing. Can we not talk about my failed love life anymore please?" She looked to the table as she spun her empty glass around.

"Sure." Quinn responded after a few moments, knowing she would most likely get nowhere on the subject.

It wasn't as if Santana didn't know what a failure she was in the love department. It was true that she didn't go into a relationship with someone thinking it would end in a week or two. That's just kind of how things turned out. It wasn't like she didn't like the thought of a lasting thing, having someone to come home to everyday, but it just didn't seem likely to be in the cards for her. The girls she thought might be keepers ended up being complete bitches; they'd either been caught cheating or had left to pursue better options, whatever that meant. She never told Quinn that. It was embarrassing and it totally stung her pride. She'd much rather Quinn think she was the cause of every break up than admit that the other girls didn't think she was worth the shot in the long run. And the girls that she had ended things with weren't going anywhere anyway. They all got boring after a while. Same routine day in and day out. Same sex that never seemed to excite her after the first few times. There was just never a connection; not one that struck her telling her 'this one's the one'. Maybe there wasn't a 'The One' for her. Maybe she was stuck with 'the ones' instead.

"So did you hear the news?" Quinn pulled her from her thoughts. Santana glanced back at her friend, noticing somewhere along the line their drinks had arrived. Wow, she must really have been in her own world there for a bit.

"What news?" Santana asked when Quinn raised her brow, realizing she hadn't answered yet.

"Puck's news." Quinn stated with a knowing smirk.

"Please, for the love of God, don't tell me he decided to go back to his dead squirrel haircut again. I don't know how many times he has to do that and immediately regret it before he realizes it just doesn't work anymore." She took a sip of her drink before continuing, liking the warmth as the alcohol spread through her. She was definitely getting a little tipsy. "I don't know why I ever thought it worked in the first place." She laughed.

"Because _you_ were in the closet and confused about more than just your sexuality." Quinn laughed with her.

"Hey, don't put it all on me. You got with him too in highschool." Santana smirked devilishly.

"One time." She spoke up, raising her index finger. "One time." They both laughed at their memories.

"Well at least nothing too damaging came out of it besides giving Puck a bigger head than he had to begin with." Santana said between chuckles. "I seriously think him getting with the two Cheerio co-captains fueled his ego well into college."

"You're probably right about that." Quinn agreed. "But that's not what I was talking about. His hair is safe, as far as I know, but he's getting married." Santana was in the middle of taking another sip of her drink and immediately she choked and spat up half her mouthful. Quinn grimaced and tried to shield herself from the spray by raising her arms. "Gross."

"W-what did you just say?" Santana croaked followed by a short coughing fit.

"I said, Puck's getting married. He's engaged." Quinn reiterated as soon as Santana was in control of her own body once more.

Santana stared at Quinn's smiling face trying to determine if this was all some horrible joke or not. Besides herself, she thought Puck had been the next most hopeless case out of their bunch of friends to find love. How had he caught himself someone who actually wanted to be with his cocky ass for the rest of their lives? It was unimaginable.

"Aren't you happy for him?" Quinn asked.

"Well, yes. I mean yeah, of course. Uh, but, um, well-" Santana stuttered before pausing to collect her thoughts. "But who?"

"Emily, of course." Quinn giggled at the stunned look on Santana's face. "Who did you think he was marrying?"

"But they've only been together for like six months."

"It's been a year and a half Santana."

"Holy fuck, really?" When Quinn nodded her head Santana continued. "When's the big day and why am I just hearing about it now?"

"Well it's not until next June, and it just became official yesterday." Quinn squealed. "Can you believe it? Our Puckasaurus is all grown up."

Santana laughed through the lump in her throat. "Yeah, that's hard to believe. But good for him." And she was happy for Puck. He might have been the center of a few of her and Quinn's jokes about the past but he was genuinely a really nice guy and deserved happiness. But she couldn't stop the voice in her head that kept saying she was going to be the only single one of their group left.

Sam and Mercedes had practically eloped straight out of highschool and were living happily ever after in L.A. Kurt and Blaine married not long after Sam and Mercedes. Tina and Mike had been together for as long as anyone could remember and were married shortly after Tina graduated. Quinn had been in a three-year relationship with Chad, who she met in college and they had tied the knot just last August. Rachel and Finn were on and off since high school but had been on for the past two years and everyone was sure this time it would stick; they'd be married soon enough. And now Puck. She was the last of their close friends remaining single, and it kind of hurt. There was a sharp pain jabbing the middle of her sternum and she rose her hand and tried to rub the pain away.

"Stomach?" Quinn asked, following Santana's movement. "You've had a bit to drink. It's probably just the acid. Have you eaten anything recently?"

"Not since lunch." Santana stated. "I've been feeling off for a couple of days." She lied. "I think I'll switch to water though. You're probably right and the acid isn't helping. So why June?"

"Oh, um well they wanted a summer wedding and-"

"Isn't June like technically spring?" Santana interrupted.

"Well yes. They wanted a Summer wedding, well Emily did. But Puck's younger brother-You remember Jake right?" Santana nodded. "Well he's getting married in July and you know Puck. He couldn't let his younger brother tie the knot before he did. So when they found out Jake and Marley's wedding was in July they decided on June." Quinn shrugged her shoulders. "Apparently June is close enough to summer for Emily and she conceded."

"Wow, little Jakey's getting married too?" Santana tried not to sound too surprised or depressed. How was it everyone had already found their person but her?

"Uh huh." Quinn nodded as she took another sip of her drink.

They chatted about other random subjects for a while, catching up, before Santana rose to leave.

"I'll see you on Saturday right?" Quinn asked. "We're still going out."

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for anything." Santana smiled. "Just gots ta go home and give Snix a rest. She's been working too hard lately. I hope the douche bags at the firm have their shit together tomorrow. I can't stand the incompetence level I've been receiving lately."

"Their just interns. You shouldn't expect so much from them." Quinn laughed.

"If I don't set expectations then none of them are going to make it out of law school, let alone become successful."

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Santana." Quinn rose and wrapped her arms around Santana's waist. "Go home and rest. I'll text you tomorrow and you can tell me all about how Danny or Sue screwed up, okay?"

Laughing, Santana nodded her head before throwing money on the table to cover her drinks and walked out of the pub. She stepped out onto the sidewalk and into the pouring rain and quickly hailed a cab. She gave her address to the driver as she slid into the middle seat, before leaning her head back. The weather had just gotten worse. It'd been drizzling off and on all day long but since being in the pub it really started pouring. She listened to the soft music coming from the radio, almost drowned out by the heavy water flow on the roof of the vehicle. The windshield wipers the only sound punctuating the steady beat of rain.

She stared out the windows at all the unfortunate people stuck walking in the rain, and she noticed a few of the pedestrians trying to flag down her cab. Idiots, the top sign was off for a reason.

She glared at a man who was jogging in the rain with a cell glued to his ear. She would have thought it was a business call except for the smile he was wearing. He was probably phoning home to tell his wife or girlfriend that he was on his way home. They were probably laughing at his predicament. The taxi passed him easily and then he was out of Santana's sight. She looked at more of the pedestrians they passed and wondered how many were hurrying to make it home to their significant others. How many would walk into their homes and be greeted by a bright smile and welcome home kiss? Probably a fair few of them. She tried not to picture her own homecoming, but it was impossible. She must have been more sensitive from her earlier conversation with Quinn because for the first time in a long while she wasn't looking forward to walking through her door to an empty apartment.

They were stopped at a red light when the passenger rear door opened and a girl jumped in. She had a soaked newspaper folded above her head in a silly attempt to thwart the rain from ruining her hair. It was obviously a lost cause as she was soaked from head to toe. Santana watched as droplets fell from the ends of her hair and could tell that the girl was a blonde, hair probably fairly light considering the shade it was now, a light bronze. Her hair was half up, or had been, held by a small light purple rose clip. It's main purpose obviously having been to keep the hair out of the girls eyes and for decoration as it wasn't doing much now that the hair had become heavy with water.

Santana looked to the front and caught the driver's eye in the rearview mirror. He shrugged implying it was up to her to deal with the girl. He obviously didn't want to send her back out into the rain. Santana, however, had no qualms with abandoning a shivering creature to the wickedness of a thunderstorm. She was about to tell the girl to get the hell out and find her own cab, not to say that was likely to happen, when the girl turned and caught Santana's eye. She smiled shyly at Santana and her eyes shone with the most brilliant sky blue colour Santana had ever seen.

"Sorry, I totally just hijacked your cab." Was the first thing out of the blonde's mouth and the sweetness of the sound caused Santana to shiver herself as if she'd been the one in the rain and not this other.

"Sorry?" Santana found her voice as the cab pulled away from the curb. She supposed she was stuck sharing the cab with the girl at least until the next traffic light.

"I just said that." The girl pursed her lips.

"I know. I just, um. Sorry." The girl smiled widely at Santana's mumbled response and giggled slightly when she apologized again. Santana sighed before trying again. "I mean, why are you hijacking my cab?"

"It's raining out." Was the only response Santana received. She waited for more but the girl didn't seem too keen on elaborating. She just kept staring at Santana with a blank expression.

"I know that." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Oh I wasn't sure, you looked kind of confused." She looked out her own window and then forward before focussing her blue gaze back on Santana. "Where you headed? You seem to be going in the general direction I was going."

"Hamilton Heights." Santana stated.

"Hmmm," the blonde bit her bottom lip, thinking. "Well, we can totally drop you off first and then I'll take the taxi from there. That's only fair since it was yours to begin with." She turned and smiled at Santana again. She really needed to stop doing that. Her make-up was pretty much washed away and her hair was a wet disaster but the girl was absolutely stunning even with the weather set against her. Santana couldn't imagine how beautiful she would be cleaned up.

Santana knew by the way the blonde spoke that if she was taken home first then the car would have to backtrack to take this oddly captivating stranger where she needed to go. "Where do you have to go. If it's on the way then we can drop you off first."

"Oh no, don't worry about it." she replied and continued to bite her lip.

"I'm not just saying that to be polite. Where are you going?"

"Soho." She stated and blushed slightly. Santana looked out the window and realized why. They had pretty much passed the blondes turn while they were having the discussion. Santana sighed as she noticed the streets becoming more congested. "Don't worry about it."

"What's your address?"

"Oh no, please. Don't bother." The blonde waved her hand back and forth in front of her.

"Can you turn around please." Santana said leaning forward a little in the driver's direction. "Soho." The driver nodded before making a turn. Santana focused once again on the stranger beside her. "What's the address? Or I'll just make the driver drive down every street until you tell us when to stop." Santana smiled herself for the first time since their conversation, if that's what you could call it, started.

"Just let me off at Sixth and West Houston. I can make it from there." she spoke up loud enough for the driver to hear and he nodded once again. "Thank you." She turned her attention on Santana once more.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "No biggie."

The blonde's smile widened again at her response. "My name's Brittany." She held out her hand. "What's yours?"

Santana took her outstretched hand and nearly let go at the sudden warmth she felt travel up her arm. She marveled at how soft Brittany's skin was. "Santana."

It wasn't long before they were stuck in a mini traffic jam and Brittany apologized once again for delaying Santana.

"You could have avoided this if you would have just spoken up about where you were going in the first place." Santana said in an annoyed tone.

Brittany hung her head and whispered another apology. Immediately Santana felt bad but at the pout evident on Brittany's face she couldn't help but let out a chuckle. It soon turned into a laugh as Brittany's head shot up and stared in confusion at her. Her brow furrowed and her nose crinkled but her pout remained and it was the most adorable thing Santana had ever seen.

"I was _joking_. Lighten up." Santana nudged Brittany with her elbow and smirked, noticing for the first time that she hadn't moved over when Brittany slid into the cab. There was an empty seat beside her but she figured it would seem a little weird if she moved now.

Brittany's pout deepened. "That wasn't nice." she said through her pout and sounded little more than five years old. Santana bit her lip and tried not to laugh but it was no use and soon she was shaking with giggles once more. Every time Santana was about to calm down she turned to apologize to Brittany but would burst out laughing again at the blonde's still present pout. If she hadn't seen Brittany's eyes sparkling with mirth she would probably be apologizing instead of laughing. But she knew Brittany wasn't really upset and her suspicions were confirmed when the next time she looked to the blonde her tongue was sticking out the side of her mouth and her eyes were crossed. Santana had to wipe her eyes of her tears and force herself to not look at the other girl in order to calm down. She was sure the driver thought she was clinically insane. She kind of felt like she was.

"What's so funny?" Brittany asked and Santana shot her eyes in her direction once more and saw Brittany's nose scrunched up like a pig. Santana clamped her mouth shut but shook with silent laughter, trying to become calm again. Her stomach was killing her and it was becoming hard to breathe. "Awe, no fair." Santana could tell by her voice that she was pouting again and she slammed her eyelids shut before she was tempted to double-check. "I can't hear your laughter anymore. That's the most fun part." The blonde continued before her voice returned to normal as the pout wasn't having any effect. "You have a really nice laugh." She stated and Santana looked over to see her genuine smile.

She took several deep breaths before slouching in her seat. Her abdominal muscles cramped slightly before relaxing with a dull ache. "Thanks. No one has ever complimented my laugh before." She stated.

"Really? I find that hard to believe." Brittany's eyes shone once more.

"Yeah, well. I don't think I've laughed that hard with anyone in a very long time. You're really funny Brittany."

"Why thank you, I do try my best." She said in a fake British accent.

"No, no more. My belly can't take anymore." She smiled wide, but was able to control her laughter. Santana closed her eyes and focused on evening out her breathing. She jolted forward when a sharp jab pierced her cramped abdominal muscles and groaned aloud. She turned a half-hearted glare at the blonde beside her, who was smirking mischievously. "What was that for?"

"Just making sure you were still alive, or awake."

Santana smiled lazily and straightened in her seat. She ran her fingers through her hair, untangling a few knots that found their way into her thick locks with the humidity in the air.

"So are you staying with friends or do you live here?" Santana asked when she realized the silence was stretching. She liked the sound of the other girl's voice. A laugh caused Santana to look up and take in the blonde. "You have a nice laugh too." It slipped out before Santana could think better of it.

Brittany's laughter quieted and her eyes twinkled with unshed moisture. Her smile was infectious. "Thanks. And do you honestly think a tourist would have had the guts to hijack some random stranger's cab?" She reached up and pulled the purple flowered clip from her tangled, damp hair. Santana watched as she raked her fingers through her hair disentangling it like Santana had done to her own not long before. The only difference being that Brittany's contained more knots than her own had and, in watching her, Santana had to refrain from reaching over to help.

It was a strange feeling for Santana, both forcing herself to stop an action, because she usually couldn't care less about what others thought of her, and wanting to run her hands through Brittany's hair in the first place. It was a pretty intimate thing and they had just met. Running her hands through someones locks during sex was one thing but doing it for grooming purposes implied a closeness or caring that Santana rarely felt towards anyone. It scared her.

"No I guess not." Santana forced herself to respond before Brittany perceived her silence and turned to see Santana's intense gaze on her. Santana continued, not wanting the silence to take over and to try to distract herself from her own disturbing thoughts. "And it would take someone especially brave to get into one of my cabs uninvited. I tend to be obsessive over things I deem as mine. I'm not opposed to throwing down." Brittany turned to observe Santana as she spoke and Santana threw in a teasing smirk.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Santana's brow creased in confusion. She ran over what she had said and couldn't find anywhere that required that particular response.

Brittany chuckled again as she wiped the moisture from her hair clip with one of the sparse dry spots of her shirt. "Both for saying I was brave and for sharing when you would probably have preferred me not appearing unannounced."

"Oh," Santana watched as Brittany kept looking at the purple flower in her hands. Santana followed her gaze and noticed that it was made of glass; it was quite pretty. Her gaze automatically traveled to Brittany's face and she noticed a slight frown adorning it. That look had no place resting on her delicate features and Santana racked her brain to figure out how to reverse it. She much preferred Brittany's smile. "I'm glad you did appear." She found herself saying and by the grin that replaced the frown Santana couldn't care less that her comment was slightly cheesy.

"Yeah?" Brittany asked peeking at Santana from the corner of her eye.

"Totally, there is no one in this retched storm I'd rather be sharing this cab with." Santana beamed. "And that includes the tediously boring slash annoying people I call my friends."

That comment caused Brittany's grin to widen and Santana was hit, once again, with how brilliant the girl's true smile really was.

"So where are you from?" The blonde asked.

"And why do you assume I'm not from here?"

"Because you're too nice to be home grown here. Most New Yorkers would have probably kicked me out of the cab as soon as I sat down."

"Hey, there are plenty of New Yorkers that are decent people." Santana tried to defend the people she knew that grew up here and were some of the nicest people she knew. She was thrown by Brittany's reaction to her response however. Brittany turned to face more fully in Santana's direction. Her smile remained but her eyes had a mischievous glint to them.

"Ha!" She said loudly. "You are from somewhere else then."

Confused Santana replied with a quiet, "huh?"

"If you were from here you would have said us not New Yorkers. You didn't lump yourself in with them." Brittany explained. Santana sat dumbfounded at Brittany's logic. She was one hundred percent correct obviously, but her being able to discern something about Santana that easily was kind of unnerving and majorly impressive.

"Neither did you." Santana shot back causing Brittany's smile to falter for a quick moment before she shrugged and her smile returned.

"I never said I was from here. I just said I wasn't a tourist."

"True." Santana said slowly.

"If you tell me where you're from I'll tell you where I'm from."

The offer was too much for Santana to pass up. She couldn't explain the need she had to get to know this mysterious stranger. "Lima." She stated, louder and more rapidly than was probably needed or normal for that matter. "Lima, Ohio."

"Lima?" Brittany asked and Santana nodded her head. "Like as in the _bean_? _Lima bean_?" Brittany giggled at her own joke and Santana chuckled with her.

"Yeah, actually one of the only coffee shops, and the best I might add, is actually named The Lima Bean. How creative huh?"

"Seriously?" Santana nodded again rapidly. "That is so awesome!" Brittany pursed her lips and squinted her eyes in a funny expression and began to speak in a lower register. "Where are you going today?" She asked before shooting her eyes wide open with a dopey smile and continued in a way too high voice. "The Lima Bean of course." she broke down into giggles once more and despite her aching abdominal muscles Santana couldn't help but join in. "That'd be awesome." Brittany got out between struggled breaths.

Santana calmed before Brittany did but continued to smile at Brittany's spasming body as she tried to control herself. "I never thought of the name as being all that interesting, but I suppose I grew up there so it lost its appeal somewhere along the line." Brittany nodded her head in agreement and wiped her eyes with both hands before realizing she was still gripping her hair clip in one hand. One of the leaves from the flower jabbed close to her eye before she brought it away from her face.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked worriedly as she noticed what happened and seeing Brittany close her eye tightly shut. Brittany blinked a few times and wiped the tears from both eyes with the hand that was not holding the dangerous weapon.

"Yeah, I think so. My flower just tried to kill me for making it go out in the rain." She said it so seriously that Santana wasn't sure what to say but ended up releasing the first sentence that came to mind.

"It's a flower? Shouldn't it like the rain?"

Brittany whipped her head in Santana's direction and stared at her, mouth agape, for a long time. Finally her expression changed and her features turned into an affronted glare. Santana was just about to apologize, even though she didn't know what for, when Brittany turned the glare to the offending flower in her hand. "You're right!" Her voice was high and accusing. She was staring at the flower as if she was waiting for it to explain its life purpose, or at least to explain why it was trying to maim her in the first place.

"I'm pretty sure it didn't mean to almost take out your eye." Santana offered to try and comfort the blonde. Eventually Brittany sighed and shook her head.

"I suppose you could be right." She didn't sound convinced however.

"So, I believe you owe me an answer to where you are from."

"Right!" The smile was back on Brittany's face. She continued to speak as she reached beside her on the seat, between the door and her body. "Tuscaloosa, originally."

"Like in Alabama?" Santana questioned. Weren't they supposed to have like really thick accents?

"Uh huh," Brittany responded as she arched her back lifting her ass from the seat and felt underneath herself. She looked briefly to Santana and saw her questioning look. "I moved out here when I was twelve so I don't have much of an accent anymore. Still can pull it out when needed to play games on some New Yorkers though. It's quite fun actually." She then shifted closer to the door and looked at the space beside her and Santana. She huffed and leaned forward to look at the floor of the cab between her feet and groaned loudly before flinging herself against the seat behind her and raised one arm to cover her face.

"What's wrong?" She heard a mumbled response but couldn't make out a word as Brittany's arm was muffling the sound. She reached over and pulled Brittany's arm away from her face and tried to ignore the warmth touching Brittany's skin elicited. "Come again?"

"I don't have my purse. I forgot it at work." She said in a defeated tone.

"That sucks, but I'm sure it's going to be there in the morning. No worries right?" When Brittany refused to look up at her but shrugged her shoulders in response Santana was at a loss to what the blonde's reasons were for being so upset. What could be in her purse that she was so upset at leaving behind. A phone most likely, but that wasn't a necessity really just a really major want. Make-up perhaps, but even that wasn't all that important at the moment. In the morning it would be needed but it was night, she shouldn't be needing make-up at this time. "Did you leave your keys in your purse?" Santana asked, finally becoming worried that Brittany would have no way to get into her home. "Can you get into your place?"

Brittany nodded once. "Yeah I have a hidden key. It's not the first time I've forgotten my keys or purse somewhere. I do it a lot. _Absentminded_ is what my friends call it." Santana frowned at the dejected tone coming from Brittany's mouth.

"What do they know? They probably don't have a single important thought going through their minds as it is. They just don't know how it feels to have so many brilliant ideas running through their head all the time like you do."

Brittany gave Santana an amazing shy smile before it disappeared as well, frown replacing it again. "My money was in there."

"What?"

"My money." She stated again.

"So, that's not the end of the world. Unless you think your coworkers are going to rifle through your purse and rob you." Santana tried to reason.

"No they wouldn't do anything like that." She sighed again.

"So..." Santana drawled. "What's the problem?"

Brittany turned to look at Santana. She studied her features for a minute or two before frowning in confusion this time. "I don't have money for the cab." She said exasperated, pouting once more.

Finally catching on Santana flicked her wrist in a shooing motion. "Pfft, so? It's just a good thing we're taking you home first then."

"But- but that's not fair to you." Brittany almost whined and Santana tried her best not to laugh again. The girl seriously was adorable when she was upset, but Santana still prefered her smile.

"I don't mind I was planning on paying the cab driver anyway whether you caught a ride or not. You are practically on the way anyways."

"But we had to backtrack and we were stuck in that traffic jam and you would have been home by now if I hadn't gotten in." Brittany tried to argue.

"And I was having a completely shitty night until you did get in so we'll just call you cheering me up as your payment, okay?" A small smile threatened to break Brittany's frown at Santana's words.

"I don't think-"

"Well I don't care what you think on this matter." Santana cut her off maintaining her teasing look. "I wasn't going to make you pay either way so lets just drop this act and not pretend like you're not _completely_ blown away at my generosity." She winked. God was she flirting with Brittany?

"You're right." Brittany sighed, teasing glint in her eye and smile again in place. Was Brittany flirting with her?

"I always am." Santana confidently stated.

"And full of yourself." Brittany continued to tease.

Santana scoffed affronted. "Now that's the second time someone has said that to me tonight. My friend voiced the same comment not two hours ago."

"Smart friend. We'd probably get along smashingly."

"First of all, I'm me, who else and I supposed to be full of? And secondly, smashingly?" Santana leaned forward eyebrow raised. "Who says that?"

"I do." Brittany responded. "And if you're going to be full of someone-" Wanky. "I'm glad it's you. You're fun." Brittany beamed. "And super nice."

"Thanks." Santana laughed. "Been a long time since I've been called nice." Santana started counting on her fingers as she continued. "Bitch, cold-hearted snake-"

"Oooo I love that song!" Brittany spoke up and Santana spared a small smile for Brittany's excitement.

"-Cunt, monster, Satan, devil's child, devil's wife, Bitchy McBitcherson." She paused. "That last one was ridiculous."

"You've been called all those things before?" Brittany asked softly.

"Oh Honey. I've been called most of those things just today." Santana smirked.

"That's not nice. I'm sorry you have to hear those things from others." Brittany reached over and took one of Santana's hands in hers. Santana looked down as Brittany intertwined their fingers and only looked up when Brittany squeezed gently. She was met with caring blue eyes and she knew even if their cab crashed into a building she wouldn't be able to look away. "They must not know who you really are, or else they'd see what I do."

"Yeah, what's that?" Santana asked after finding her voice. She was anxious to hear what Brittany really thought of her.

"Exactly what I said. You're someone who is fun and nice. You don't sweat the small things but are protective over those you think are important. You're someone who doesn't care what other people think, for the most part." She paused, biting her bottom lip obviously torn in regards to her next words. "But you want to be accepted. And you are extremely faithful."

Santana was touched. Brittany was good at reading people apparently because there was no way she would be able to just guess all those things and get so close to the truth. "Mostly correct." Santana whispered as she kept Brittany's gaze.

"What part was wrong?" Brittany cocked her head to one side.

"The faithful part." Normally she would say that was correct, except Quinn had just pointed out not long ago that she hadn't been faithful while with the flight attendant. Not that she didn't believe the girl was completely faithful with her either.

"I don't believe it." Brittany stated matter-of-factly.

"Well believe it." Santana sighed. She probably could have lied and dropped it but looking into Brittany's eyes she just couldn't find it in her to make anything up. "I've been the cheater before. Kind of the opposite of faithful don't ya think?" Brittany squinted as she pinched her lips shut. She concentrated on her so hard Santana was worried she would short-circuit something.

"Was their feelings involved?" Where did that question come from?

"With who? The girl or the girl on the side?"

Brittany's brow shot up quickly at Santana's answer before she smiled wider than anything she had shown so far. "_Girls?_" She asked and by the blush that found its way up her neck and across her cheeks Santana was sure the question just slipped out. "I mean, um both." She tried to correct herself, and again she was being so damn adorable Santana couldn't help but admire her. "Were their feeling involved with either of them?"

Santana decided to show mercy for once and chose to let Brittany's slip up go. "No, no feelings."

"Then that's not cheating." Brittany stated firmly and Santana instantly gave her a questioning look. "Sounds more like friends with benefits to me. Did she sleep with anyone besides you?"

"I never bothered to ask, but I'm sure she did." Santana supplied.

"Then definitely just friends with benefits." Brittany nodded once as if closing the book on the argument.

"But we weren't friends." Santana felt relieved with Brittany's logic. Monique was the only girl she had not stayed faithful too and although she hid it from others it had bothered her that she was so weak that she resorted to sleeping around. It was just Monique was never around when Santana had the urge and normally when Santana would start to crave others she would break up with the current girl. But Monique was never around for the break up either. In fact straight after her and Monique's welcome home sex, Santana had broken it off. Monique had just shrugged and waved before walking out of Santana's apartment and her life.

"Acquaintances with benefits then?" Brittany asked and her nose as she thought deeply on the subject.

"Sounds closer to the actual arrangement."

"Then definitely not cheating. Any other times?"

"No." Santana replied truthfully.

"See, like I said, _faithful_." Brittany's body bobbed up and down and Santana was sure if she wasn't seated she would be jumping. "And I even bet you felt bad about thinking it was cheating."

Santana's only response was to shrug her shoulders as she looked out the front windshield of the cab. They were only a few blocks from Brittany's stop. Santana was glad that the rain had slowed because that meant Brittany wouldn't be stuck in a downpour, considering Santana didn't know how far from the corner Brittany actually lived.

"You act tough and nonchalant but you don't like thinking of yourself as a cheater do you?"

"No one does. Or I guess no decent person should." Santana responded and looked back to Brittany.

"Awe you just admitted you're a decent person." Brittany cooed.

"Aww, mother fucker!" Santana exclaimed. "You speak of this to no one. Do you_ hear_?" Santana pointed her index finger of the hand not still holding Brittany's at the blonde's face. Brittany laughed once more and nodded her head. She lifted her own free hand and made a show of turning an invisible key to her mouth. "Good. I can let you live then." Santana teased, smiling once more.

The cab came to a stop and both girls looked out the window to see they had arrived at Brittany's location. Brittany released Santana's hand, opened the door and got out of the cab. She moved so fast Santana had no time to react. She keenly felt the loss of Brittany's presence as soon as she stepped out. Santana wanted to say something and the 'bye' on the tip of her tongue felt like the completely wrong thing to say.

Instead of slamming to door of the cab and continuing on Brittany turned and leaned her head back into the cab. She braced herself with one hand on the seat. "I feel totally like a jerk for not paying my share of the cab." She stated with an apologetic look.

"I said don't worry about it." Santana smiled gently but Brittany didn't move to leave, even if her body was still being drizzled on by the stubborn rain that continued to fall. Brittany's nose crinkled again as she thought.

"I know!" Brittany all but yelled as she held her flower hair clip out before Santana. "Here take this. It's not much and probably not worth even a quarter of what I owe for my portion but it's my favorite so that should count for something. Or it had been my favorite until it tried to blind me." She finished her rant glaring down at the offending item once more.

"Oh, no. Really, you don't owe me anything and I couldn't take your favorite clip. I'd feel bad."

"I want you to have it." Brittany turned her pout on as she looked to Santana.

"Fine." Santana gave in and took the item gently from Brittany's grip. Brittany started backing out of the cab with a triumphant smile plastered to her face. She waved good-bye and opened her mouth to probably voice the same sentiment but Santana panicked. She couldn't let Brittany leave. The past twenty minutes were the most interesting and sadly the happiest she had been in a very, very long time. Santana pictured, once again, her homecoming. The silence she knew awaited her that she once looked forward to, after a day of arguing at work, she now dreaded. She wanted to hear Brittany talk some more, wanted to hear her laugh, and her funny jokes and learn what other objects she felt had a mind of their own. She wanted to stay in Brittany's company. She didn't want to be alone anymore. "Wait!" she yelled just as Brittany was almost out of the car once more. She returned to her previous position and tilted her head in question.

"Yeah?"

"Um-" Santana paused and racked her brain for something, anything really, that would delay the other's exit, but she came up with nothing. There was no sane reason for Brittany to stay. There was no reason for Brittany to continue to want to see her. She smiled briefly at the thought that creeped into her mind but was afraid to voice it. After the discussion they just had she wasn't sure if it was an appropriate move to make. Santana looked up from the purple glass flower she had been focussing on and looked into Brittany's eyes once more. She didn't think she'd be able to live with herself if she let Brittany go without asking. She finally summed up the courage looking into Brittany's soft eyes. "Would you- I mean do you maybe want to- God." Santana scoffed at her lack of game. "Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?"

Brittany's smile brightened and Santana was sure she was going to answer positively, but soon Brittany's smile turned softer, more understanding and Santana realized a rejection was on the way.

"I have a boyfriend." Brittany stated.

"Oh-" Santana tried to keep the disappointment from being too evident in her voice but was positive she failed. "Of course you do." She smiled to keep the frown from showing on her face. Of course Brittany was perfect and also perfectly straight.

"But if I didn't I'd say yes in a heartbeat." Santana was surprised at the response. Apparently she wasn't completely straight after all. Not that it was going to make a difference anyway.

Santana was even more surprised when Brittany leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against to corner of her mouth. It took everything in her to not grab the back of Brittany's neck and force her lips on her own properly. But the warm feeling that accompanied Brittany's touches was amplified. Santana's skin was tingling where Brittany's lips had been. She watched as Brittany pulled away and said a soft good-bye before exiting the cab and shutting the door. Santana watched as Brittany began to run down the street without looking back.

Santana sighed at her missed chance. Of course the first girl she had become really, very interested in was taken.

It was probably for the best, she thought. She'd probably just end up hurting the blonde in the long run. But thinking of it made Santana scowl. She already knew she would rather poke her own eye out with the glass flower than hurt Brittany.

She'd probably never see her again anyway.

* * *

"Come on, Santana. You look like you're attending a funeral, not a wedding." Quinn sidled up alongside Santana in the row of chairs set out on the grass of Central Park.

"I'm wearing green aren't I?" Santana retorted snidely. "If I was thinking of attending a funeral I'd be in black."

"I didn't mean your dress. I meant your face." Quinn quipped.

"What's wrong with my face?" Santana panicked and pulled a compact out of her clutch to examine her skin. She looked up to her friend when she didn't see anything but perfection, just as it had been tem minutes ago when she'd last looked. She caught Quinn's eye roll as she playfully nudged Santana's shoulder with her own.

"I meant you look like someone died." Quinn explained.

"They did." Santana stared seriously into Quinn's eyes until her hazel ones softened and she asked who. "Emily's better judgement." Santana burst out laughing as Quinn tried to hold her own laughter in. "Where's Mr. Fabgay?" Santana switched topics.

"When are you going to stop calling him that? I took his name not the other way around." Quinn sent a half-hearted glare at her best friend.

"He might as well have taken your name with how much he bends over backwards at everything you say. I'm surprised he can even stand up straight with how damaged his spine must be at this point."

"Don't be rude." She scolded. "Chad had to work, he'll be at the reception later."

"Oh, Goodie." Santana clapped her hands along with her sarcasm.

Quinn was undoubtedly about to respond with her own quip but they were interrupted by Kitty sitting down on the other side of Santana and cleared her throat when neither of the other former Cheerios looked her way.

"Emily and Puck were meaning to talk to you." She stated when both of them reluctantly gave her their attention.

"Then send one of them on over Sourpuss."

"I would but they are both kind of busy at the moment. You know, with the wedding being minutes from happening." Santana was about to comment on why this couldn't wait until after the ceremony but Kitty must have sensed what was coming. "And cut the fucking bitch attitude. I think it's clear by this point I'm immune to your fucked up sarcasm." She paused to stare both Santana and Quinn down and only continued when both of the older girls relented and ceased their glaring. "Okay, so here's the thing. One of Puck's Groomsmen, Paul- you know him?" Quinn and Santana both nodded. "Well his girlfriend is Marley's Maid of Honor. Now you must know that since the two weddings are only three weeks apart that most of the friends, which are attending both dates, are just sticking around New York."

"Yes, yes, we are well aware of this Kitty." Quinn spoke up as both Santana and herself turned their attention to the other people moving about. "I have Sam and Mercedes and Tina and Mike staying with me for the next three weeks because of that reason."

"Okay, well this girl -Paul's girlfriend- needs a place to stay for those three weeks. Puck and Emily were wondering if you could take her in."

"Did you not just hear me? I said I have six people living in my apartment as it is. There is no way I can take in another, especially one I don't know the first thing about." Quinn responded annoyed.

"Did I say I was talking to you?" Santana and Quinn's heads snapped sharply in Kitty's direction. They saw the smirk widen as Kitty received their full attention for once.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"Oh,_ Fuck no_." Santana responded.

"Come on. We all know that unlike Quinn and everyone else that lives in New York, who have put up many guests in their homes, you have yet to accept any, Santana."

"There's a reason for that Quinn's little Mini-me." Santana snapped. "I don't like people. Even Quinn here I _barely_ tolerate."

"Hey!" Quinn spoke up affronted.

"I couldn't guarantee the individuals safety in my apartment." Santana continued, ignoring Quinn's outburst to which she crossed her arms and huffed.

"No one said you had to babysit the girl. She is quite capable of taking care of herself."

"It's me I can't protect her from. I am not held responsible for my reactions to others if it gets a little physical, especially in my home." Santana explained.

"Just let her crash at your place. We all know you have a spare room." Santana turned to look at Quinn, surprise evident on her face. She was getting back at her for the harmless dig by siding against her? Ugh, it was so like her.

"Why doesn't she just stay with her damn boyfriend, where ever he's staying?" Santana asked thinking it was a valid question. Most of the couple she knew were staying together. Kurt and Blaine were staying with Rachel and Finn, who where officially engaged and waiting to be married next summer. Why not have this girl just stay with her boyfriend? It made sense.

"They were originally supposed to but he is staying with Puck and Jake, because he doesn't know anyone else enough to ask for an invitation."

"So she can stay there with them, problem solved."

"No _not_ problem solved. They didn't expect Jake and Puck's mom's both wanting to stay with them. They get along well enough but when Puck's mom heard that Jake's was staying at their place she insisted she be close as well in case Emily needed her for something." Kitty paused but realized Santana was nowhere near convinced. "When they found out Paul's girlfriend insisted he stay with his friends to catch up because they see each other so rarely since they moved from New York, and she said she would stay with a friend of hers that lived here."

"And let me guess. Those plans fell through as well?" Santana questioned.

"Yeah, something about her friend having a son now that is _deathly_ allergic to cats. Anyway it's a no go there and she only just found out about it last night. Paul is sleeping on a couch at Puck and Jake's and there are too many people in that house as is. Emily and Marley have been trying to find different arrangements. They even thought of sending both Paul and his girlfriend to your place so they could be together."

"Oh, hells no. There will not be a fucking man, who's a stranger, sleeping anywhere near my goodies _ever again_." Santana rose her voice in a form of finality.

"That's exactly what Puck said you'd say. Word for word actually." Kitty pondered while Quinn and Santana chuckled. "So the girlfriend apparently said if they could just find a place for her to crash then that would be fine. If it wasn't three full weeks she would stay in a hotel and if she wasn't the Maid of Honour and was needed for Marley's last-minute planning then she would have flown home and returned." Kitty tried once more to get Santana to accept. It was the reason she was sent in the first place; she didn't take no for an answer. A fact both Quinn and Santana secretly admired about her and publically frowned on.

"How annoying is she?" Santana asked.

"Really sweet and quiet. You won't even know she's there." Was Kitty's immediate response.

"How ugly?"

"What?" Kitty asked, confused.

"Oh Santana stop being such a fucking bitch." Quinn said while smacking Santana's arm.

"It's a _valid_ question." Santana deadpanned.

"In what universe?" Quinn asked.

"In this one. In _mine_." Santana turned to face Quinn a little easier. "If she's so far below my level than she's going to become obsessed with me. I can't handle another stalker Quinn. Especially one in my own home that's fucked up." Quinn nodded in agreement because Santana did have a stalker of two over the years. "And if she's slightly cute than she's going to obviously fall in love with me and I won't be held responsible for my actions if I get weak one night and fall to her advances. It won't be my fault if I break up their happy relationship." Kitty scoffed and both Quinn and Santana turned to her, almost having forgotten she was present.

"She's being serious." Quinn addressed Kitty directly.

"Are you kidding me?" Kitty asked mouth agape.

"Answer the damn question." Santana was getting fed up with the conversation and wanted to just say yes to get the annoyingly pushy girl away from her. And she thought Rachel was pushy!

"She's hot, I guess." Kitty stated and looked to Quinn who Santana noticed was nodding her head. That fucking traitor was still against her. "Way out of your league actually."

Santana heard Quinn groan as she shook her head in the negative. "Don't fucking tell her that." Quinn almost whined. "Now she's going to take it as a challenge."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Kitty asked.

"Everybody knows that." Santana shrugged. "Fine she can stay and I'll even do my best from trying to get in the girls pants." She said in Quinn's direction. It was kind of nerving that Quinn thought so little of her self-control.

"Are you sure? It's been awhile for you hasn't it? I know how you get when you've had a bit of a dry spell."

It was true. Usually when it had been awhile since she'd had sex she would get frustrated one night for no reason and find the closest, willing girl she could find, that was also clean, to do the nasty with. When she was younger it had been worse. Lately, however, she was cutting back on the one night stands. Not that they didn't happen occasionally because a girl has needs, but she wasn't finding the same satisfaction she once had with the randoms she hooked up with. She wasn't a slut or anything, she had standards and even tried for the most part to turn the encounters into something more but it had never worked out.

The last year she'd only had a few one night stands and she'd learned from the past that trying for anything more afterwards was a waste of time. She'd been on a few of first and second dates but nothing ever lasted much longer than that. It wasn't that she didn't want it, she really did. She was sick of being alone and the only odd man out at dinners with her friends. She hated that Quinn and Rachel made Chad and Finn stay home more than they should just so she wouldn't get depressed and lonely. It wasn't fair to them.

The problem was that no one was ever good enough. She never thought she was picky. She had standards but not overly hard to reach ones. But the picture she had in her head was apparently too hard to meet for any of the girls she tried to date. But Santana couldn't bring herself to lower the bar.

It was all _her_ fault.

She'd spent twenty glorious minutes with one girl over a year ago in a dirty, smelly cab and now no other girl could live up to Santana's standards. Because they weren't _her_. They didn't have the right laugh, or as bright of smile. They didn't have her witty banter or teasing side. They didn't send warm pulses through her when they touched her. They weren't good enough and Santana was starting to think she had made a huge mistake in letting Brittany go so easily.

Yes, she still remembered her name. _Brittany_. Another criteria for her future dates. They couldn't be named Brittany. It reminded Santana too much of the perfect girl she would never have. She should have grabbed the girls neck like she wanted and kissed her like she deserved to be kissed. She should have run after her in the rain, yelling her name and not stopping until Brittany had agreed on the date. She should have done something, said something. Anything but let her walk away like she had.

She'd walked through her door and was greeted with the silence she'd known would be there. She had sat on her couch and closed her eyes and replayed every second of the cab ride. And then spent the entire night scolding herself for not being brave enough to go after what she wanted. She'd felt so alone sitting in her apartment. She could have phoned one of the girls who were always on standby to keep her company. But the knowledge that while she was with one of these girls that Brittany's face was bound to pop up in her mind was enough to turn her off of the idea. Instead she had laid in bed and cried herself to sleep for the first time in three years.

The next day she'd awoken with a purpose. She called in sick to work and had gotten up and ready as fast as she could. She spent the entire day walking around Soho in hopes of catching a glimpse of her. She spent many hours walking up and down the streets closest to the corner they dropped Brittany off the night before. She ate at a coffee shop in the area and paid close attention to every blonde that passed by. She crawled into bed late that night having stayed to see if Brittany might have a job working nights.

She'd returned to Soho every chance she got and each time she brought the glass flower hair clip with her in hopes of using it as an excuse to be in the neighbourhood. She never bumped into her. A month passed and then two and Santana was convinced Brittany must have lied and not lived in the neighbourhood. Maybe it was her boyfriends place and they had broken up so she wasn't living in Soho anymore. The thought had broken her because she didn't know where else to look or where to start. All she knew about her was her name was Brittany and she was originally from Tuscaloosa.

Her almost daily trips to Soho turned into a couple of times a week and then once a week.

She still turned up in Soho every Saturday, still clinging to the hope that Brittany would appear and laugh at Santana for waiting around so long because she was out of the country on those save the world type things you always heard people talking about. Brittany was nice and generous and Santana could see her going to help those less fortunate. It was one of the many scenarios that she imagined when she was sitting in the same coffee shop every week only paying attention to the blonde women who passed.

She had only ever told Quinn about Brittany, no one else, and only because for the first few weeks Quinn had questioned where Santana always ran off to. Quinn had at first encouraged Santana to go looking for her girl but after a few more weeks of turning up nothing Quinn started distracting Santana so she wouldn't continue to be disappointed day in and day out.

Santana was brought from her thoughts as Kitty got up to leave. She replayed their conversation automatically in case there was some snide comment she should be throwing at the retreating back but only one thing popped out at her.

"Allergies is why you said she couldn't stay with her friend?" Santana asked to be sure.

"Yeah, cat dander." Kitty turned to face Santana and then widened her eyes at what she realized she hadn't mentioned.

"She's bringing a cat?" Santana's voice lowered menacingly and Kitty took several quick steps back, bumping into an usher and almost landing on her ass in the grass.

"You already said yes. Quinn's my witness." The younger girl said before turning and running off to probably relay the message to Puck or Emily or Marley.

Santana turned to Quinn to suss out if she was still on everyone else's side or if she had returned from the darkness to bask in the rightness that was Santana's whole being. Quinn only smirked at her and turned to observe the new arrivals. She was most definitely not on her side just yet.

The ceremony was beautiful and Santana gave full credit to Emily as they walked up to congratulate the newlyweds. Emily thanked her and then pulled Santana aside.

"And thank you so much for taking in Paul's girlfriend. We were all worried that she would have to remain with us for the duration of the three weeks." When Santana gave her an unpleasantly confused look Emily was quick to rephrase what she said, realizing how unwelcome the girl seemed to be portrayed. "I mean that there is just not enough room. Marley and I have our hands full with our mother in-laws that we have hardly said three words to the poor girl this past day. We feel horrible and seriously, I would like to kick Paul out as well but we realize you letting one person stay is thanks enough and we wouldn't dare ask you to do more than that." She paused, obviously waiting for Santana to speak up and ensure that Paul was welcome to stay alongside his girlfriend. She obviously hadn't spent nearly enough time in Santana's presence to know her very well. Emily only continued when it was evident Santana's focus was wandering. "I guess we really should introduce you two considering you are going to be living together the next three weeks. You guys are going to be the best of friends, I know it." She was speaking way to high to be genuine and Santana knew that she was thinking the same things that was running through her head.

Fat chance that was going to happen.

Emily tuned and linked arms with Santana and led her behind the arch her and Puck had said their vows under.

"Paul! Paul!" She yelled and one of the men Santana recognized as a Groomsmen turned around and smiled at Emily. "Have you seen-" she cut herself off as she scanned the area. "Oh, nevermind, there she is."

Emily continued to drag Santana over to a group of girls chatting animatedly. She recognized Marley and Kitty immediately but the other four were either turned away from her or she didn't even know them.

Emily strode up to one of the girls and tapped her on the shoulder. She was wearing a light pink dress that Santana would think was a little too girly for most women to pull off. But the material was a snug fit and showed off the other girl's figure. Even from the back Santana was aware that Kitty was telling the truth. This girl was hot. Her legs seemed to go on forever, being exposed from mid-thigh all the way to her strappy nude heels. Santana's eyes raked up the girls form and barely registered the blonde hair atop her head done up in an intricate display of braids and loose tendrils when the girl turned to acknowledge Emily.

"Brittany, this is Santana." She smiled and tugged on Santana's arm she was still clinging to and for once Santana was gladdened by the girls annoying need to be a cling monster because she was sure without her support she would have fainted on the spot as Brittany's blue eyes captured her own. "Santana this is Brittany. Santana here has agreed to let you stay with her until Marley's wedding."

It was Brittany, _her Brittany_.

* * *

_So I hope it's a good start. _

_P.S. Thank you to the reviewer that pointed out my mistake. I feel like a douche. In a good 'Thanks for correcting me' Kind of way._


	2. Chapter 2

_So sorry for the late update but I got into writing my other story. But better late than never. This was supposed to be combined with the next chapter but I felt it worked better to let them stand on their own. _

_Hope you enjoy._

* * *

She stood there, dumbfounded, for what felt like an eternity. She'd spent so much time and energy looking for Brittany over the past year and right when and where she wasn't the least bit expecting to find her, there she was. She felt a tug on her arm and remembered there were others watching them, others waiting for some kind of reaction.

Santana tore her eyes away from Brittany's and looked to the girls surrounding them. Two girls were smiling and had carried on with the previous conversation but others were anxiously awaiting Santana's reaction. They were probably just waiting for her to blow up and insult the blonde like she normally would. Santana's eyes found Kitty's and the shorter blonde glared at her in warning. Santana scoffed because although she desperately wanted to tell the girl to go fix her make-up to hide her masculine features she couldn't do it here. She couldn't let Brittany see that side of her. Santana was afraid that Brittany would take back all the nice things she'd said about her during their first meeting. And more than anything she knew having Brittany think she was a bitch would hurt more than she wanted to acknowledge.

When her eyes returned to Brittany she found a playful grin present on the blondes soft features. Her eyes sparkled with something Santana wanted to name as recognition. Did Brittany remember her? If she did what did that _mean_? Santana might get more than a few odd stares if she followed through with any of her internally rehearsed romantic run in scenarios with Brittany that she's dreamt up in the coffee shop in Soho. If she admitted remembering the blonde here she would have to explain herself to everyone present. And if she said that she remembered Brittany from over a year ago from one shared taxi ride they would think she was insane. She never paid that close attention to anyone. And it would just cause her friends to make rash assumptions on Santana's feelings towards the blonde. And even though those assumptions would pale in comparison to Santana's reality she couldn't let the rumours get even that far.

And what if Brittany didn't remember? She'd be seen as pathetic. It'd been a year. A whole year. A lot of time had passed since they'd met. Brittany no longer lived in New York. She was in a relationship with a guy Santana could only assume was the same dude she'd been dating all along.

What was Brittany going to do if Santana followed through with her delusional daydreams? Was she going to leave her long-term relationship and move all the way back from wherever she'd built her new life in?

_Not fucking likely._

If Santana told Brittany how much she thought of the blonde and how often she frequented Soho in hopes of seeing her once more, or even mentioned one of the many daydreams she'd had of her she was sure Brittany would either laugh or run away terrified and creeped out, or maybe both.

Paul was Puck's good friend and Brittany was Marley's maid of honour and they were dating. They shared the same friends with Santana. They were in a long-term relationship. They had a life together. Brittany had a life with him, outside of New York now and there was no way for Santana to squeeze herself into Brittany's life like she'd been dreaming of. There was no way she could get rid of this Paul guy that Santana suddenly found so revolting. Brittany and Paul were an item and shared close friends and a life and probably had similar interests and political views and, everything. They were each others everything. There was no worse alternate universe version of this outcome. It was hopeless to continue thinking, no dreaming, of ways in which she could call the blonde hers.

She couldn't. She'd lost her chance over a year ago.

"Nice to meet you." Santana politely spoke as she extended her right hand towards Brittany. Santana quickly convinced herself the disappointed glimmer that took over Brittany's face briefly was all a part of her imagination.

"You too." Brittany softly spoke before taking Santana's hand.

Instantly a familiar, yet almost forgotten, warmth enveloped Santana's whole arm. She released a shaky breath and felt every muscle in her body relax at once. She knew she held into the handshake a little longer than was called for but she didn't know when she was going to feel that again and she wanted to memorize it in case that was the last time she'd experience it.

"Uh, well thanks." Brittany smiled wide. "For agreeing to let me stay with you for a few weeks." Her smile dropped and her features were taken over by a frown. "I know it's inconvenient to let a complete stranger into your home, especially on such short notice."

Santana waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's not that big of deal." She ignored the incredulous stares of the other girls at her comment and was grateful that they were all standing behind Brittany now so she at least remained oblivious.

"Maybe not for you." Her smile was back and the same strange glint was in her eyes. "But I greatly appreciate your kindness."

Santana's eyes widened as Kitty began to snicker and closed her eyes in embarrassment when the girl spoke.

"Santana, kind?" Her snickering turned into a full-out laugh and a few of the others around joined in. "Satan here doesn't have a kind bone in her body. Except for when she's trying to get into her next conquests pants."

Santana prayed that Brittany didn't remember their first encounter. She prayed, for the first time, that she hadn't made half the impact on Brittany as Brittany had on her. Her taxi Brittany said she would have went on a date with Santana in a heartbeat. This Brittany was about to learn how undeserving Santana was of that comment. Santana would prefer Brittany not remember the belief in Santana's good side that she voiced a year ago. She'd rather a clean slate Brittany think ill of her opposed to her taxi Brittany changing her mind.

"And even then the niceties don't last long before Queen Bitch is back on the floor." Another of the girls spoke up and Santana forced her eyes open to try and play off how much she disliked this conversation. She looked everywhere but at the beautiful blonde in front of her.

"Floor? Don't you mean the bed?" A brunette that Santana barely knew decided to join in. "Isn't Santana the fuck-'em-and-leave-'em kind?" She shrugged. "Wouldn't take much longer after getting her way to revert back to her hell-fire attitude."

Santana blanched. Normally she would shrug off the insults and throw a half-hearted comment about how most of the time the pain of being nice wouldn't be worth the little pleasure the skanks gave her. Or would smugly accept the insult as a compliment. But Brittany was right there. She was not five feet away from her and even though Santana wasn't looking at her she could feel the frown she wore in the way she stood. These were the last things Santana wanted Brittany to know. Most of them weren't even true. She'd charmed her way into girls beds before but she'd never turned around and kicked the girls out right after. She'd always been at least partially grateful for the experience. She certainly never hurt any girls feelings after the fact. But that's how they were portraying her. As a manipulator.

What if Brittany did remember their taxi ride? She'd believe that Santana was only being nice in hopes of getting Brittany into bed with her. She immediately became enraged. If by some slim chance Santana made a positive impression on the blonde and she remembered it who were these girls to ruin that image Brittany had of her.

"Look here you f-" she cut herself off and looked to Brittany for the first time in several minutes. Her eyes were wide in surprise, probably scared by Santana's voice level and menacing tone. If she took the bait she'd prove the girls right in their assessment that all she was was an angry bitch. "You know what? I'm going to let that go because this is Puck's wedding and I'm feeling generous."

She turned and made a beeline for where she remembered leaving Quinn. She never, in a million years. would have thought that minutes after finding Brittany again she would be walking briskly away from her. She forced her eyes ahead and her feet to keep moving. When she arrived back at the flowered arch she didn't have to look very hard to find her blonde friend talking to Puck.

She approached them and punched Puck in the shoulder without a second thought. "Hey, Loser. So how does it feel to be tied down to one woman for the entire rest of your life? No more partying or working the crowded bar scene or any of that fun stuff ever again." She knew she was being over dramatic but she still held a slight grudge against him for getting married before her. She knew it was irrational and petty but she couldn't help it, especially after seeing Brittany again, knowing she was more unattainable with her long-term boyfriend, than she ever was in Santana's dreams.

"Feels kind of perfect actually." He smiled and stared in the direction Santana came from and she knew he was looking at his wife.

"Ugh, can you be any more whipped?" She punched him again making him wince, she knew she had killer aim and had hit him in the same spot as the first. "You're pathetic."

"Ow! Jesus, Santana lay off."

"You're_ Jewish_ remember." She smirked and hit him one last time.

"Really? Quinn, seriously can't you at least try to control her?" He turned his attention to the other girl who'd done nothing but observe the interaction so far. "Who even let her out of her damn cage?"

"That would be you for inviting her. It's not my fault you didn't think things through properly." Quinn responded breezily.

He glared between the two of them several times before throwing up his hands in defeat. "Why do I even try with you two? You always take each others sides over mine. Even on my wedding day apparently."

Although Quinn was working against her earlier and Santana was sure she'd continue to provoke her later they had always had an unspoken agreement that when Puck was involved, no matter how pissed at each other they were, they'd always ban together against him. It was just the way it was.

Santana smirked before leaning towards Puck. He flinched and she laughed while bringing her arms around him in a hug. He soon realized that she wasn't meaning to cause further harm and brought his arms around her slim frame to embrace her completely.

"Congrats Dipshit." He smiled at her knowing she meant it as a term of endearment and she returned the gesture wholeheartedly, even if she was a tiny bit bitter still. She turned to Quinn who was smirking at the two of them. "Let's go. I'm starving and need to get out of this sun. Boy am I not looking forward to Jake's day. It's going to be insanely hot if this is what Spring feels like."

They all laughed once more and hugs were given once again before Santana and Quinn were able to make their exit. Just as they were reaching the edge of the parking lot, Santana felt a tickling sensation on the back of her neck. She tried to ignore it but the further from the wedding she moved the stronger the sensation became. She glanced behind her as she stepped from the grass to the asphalt. Her eyes immediately found the exact ones she was trying to avoid. Brittany was watching her depart and Santana felt actual guilt at how little attention she'd given the blonde. It wasn't something she was particularily able to control. She was still confused and being observed by so many people she wanted to fear her had thrown her off a little.

But just as Santana was about to turn around and continue on to her car Brittany raised a hand and waved at her. Santana found herself reciprocating the friendly gesture, not caring who saw.

xxx

It was hours later when Santana strode through the doors of the reception hall. She'd changed out of her tight green sleeveless dress into a red one that flowed around her curves instead of clinging to them. The night cooled slightly from the unbearable heat the afternoon had brought, but it had turned humid. Santana tried on three dresses before she'd settled on the one she now wore, every other option stifling her after only moments of putting them on.

She looked around at the room full of people chatting and laughing. A dance floor was set up on one side and couples as well as groups were twirling and swaying to the beats the band were playing from their raised stage against the wall. The other side of the hall tables were set up with white cloths covering them. Candles in stain glassed holders were set ablaze causing rays of different colours to paint the tables beneath them. People occupied these spots as well, eating food and snacks from the beautifully set up dishes along the furthest wall.

Looking towards the food Santana smiled. She made her way around a few couples and stepped up to the counter that had caught her attention. A cute redhead looked up when Santana leaned forward resting her forearms on the wood top separating them. Santana rose one side of her mouth in a smirk she knew would get the others attention. The girl nearly dropped the glass in her hands and stood blushing at Santana through her lashes.

When the girl remained frozen Santana's smile widened and the girl's mouth dropped open at Santana's blatant flirting. Santana knew it was harmless on her part, she wasn't about to do anything with the girl. But at the end of the night when a rational bartender would be cutting her off this girl may be swayed into continuing to supply her with much needed drinks. It was a win-win for everyone involved.

She ordered a drink and strummed her nails on the counter separating them when she remained frozen. The noise snapped the girl out of the stupor she was in and she spun away from Santana to quickly mix her drink.

"Unbelievable." Santana didn't have to turn around to know that her blonde best friend was frowning disapprovingly behind her.

"Upset that I'm into the alcohol so early?" Santana asked as she accepted the drink from the redhead, smiling wide once more. She took a sip through the green straw before turning to face Quinn, knowing liquid courage was needed for the task. She only wished that Quinn stayed oblivious to her entrance long enough for her to down a full glass before the confrontation.

"No, actually I've been keeping an eye on this side of the room since I arrived, knowing it would be your first stop." Quinn smirked, hands on her hips. She'd also obviously opted to wear a cooler version of her normal dresses. Where most of her dresses seemed to be made of thick fabric or multiple layers this one was thin and strapless. The yellow material looked soft but shimmered in the lights from the multicoloured candles around them. She approved the look for once. "And I'm more interested in why you are over two hours late."

"I'm flattered that you know me so well and that you've been spending your time watching for me." She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at the taller girl. "If I didn't know you were completely straight I'd be a little creeped out by your stalkerish tendancies." She couldn't help the smirk that was a result of Quinn's exasperated scoff. "But I can totally see the reason for your wandering eyes." She shrugged and dipped her head to take another drink from her glass, looking pointedly over Quinn's shoulder. Quinn narrowed her eyes at Santana and looked about to speak. "Hey Pufferfish! How's it hanging?"

"Always a pleasure Santana." Chad responded as he placed a hand on Quinn's shoulder and kissed her temple in greeting. Quinn smiled and leaned into him. Santana nearly gagged.

Chad wasn't a bad guy, she supposed. He was decent looking, but his spiked hair annoyed her, hence the nickname and he wasn't all that tall. Quinn was almost the same height as him with her heels and it just looked odd. But he'd never cheated on her or done anything to truly hurt her, and Santana would know as she looked deep, for months, for any dirty little secrets hidden in his closets. She'd come up clean, and if she couldn't find anything than it was pretty obvious that the dude had nothing to hide. He was both the only good guy Quinn had dated and not deserving of her in the least. But then again, Santana was always a girl with high standards, even more so for her friends than herself, so it didn't come as a surprise when Chad wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms.

"Come on, lets go sit down." Quinn spoke up. She turned and Chad jumped to follow. Like give her no space, that's attractive. Santana turned to the bar again and ordered another drink even though the one in her hand was still half full. She needed another one if she was going to live through even five minutes of Quinn and Chad's lovey dovey display.

She could hear Quinn telling Chad that they'd catch up with him and he left to keep a table open for them. "I was more worried at your late entrance before, but now I actually suspect somethings up." Santana felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She responded cooly as she winked at the redhead and turned to walk briskly past Quinn and made her way to Chad sitting at a table in the corner of the room. She silently approved of his choice of seating. Quinn's quick steps were heard behind her and she caught up just as Santana was sliding into one of the chairs against the wall. Quinn sat in the chair across from her and stared at her in painful observation. Santana worked hard to avoid her gaze and was actually grateful when Chad stole some of the blonde's attention. She guessed he wasn't that bad afterall.

She quickly finished her first drink and pushed it to the middle of the table before bringing her full drink to rest in front of her. She continued to avoid Quinn's frequent probing looks by looking interested in the others in attendance. She spotted Puck and most of the bridal party when her gaze wandered to the head table Puck spotted her at the same time and lifted his own glass in salute. She smirked and inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement.

She found her eyes drawn to a few couples mingling behind the head table over Puck's right shoulder and she immediately wished she'd kept her eyes moving.

But once her eyes found her there was no way to tear them away. She, like almost all the women in attendance, had changed from the dress she'd worn that afternoon. She now wore a pale blue dress. It was completely different from the earlier one in that it was more flowing than form fitting and yet fit her perfectly. Santana was thankful that this dress was slightly longer because there was no way Santana could take seeing that much leg from the blonde.

Brittany's hair was pulled up into a messy but elegant bun at the back of her head. A few strands curled perfectly down her neck, seemingly accidental, and it might have been if Santana didn't think she looked perfect. The loose tendrils framing her face as well looked far too good to have been mistakenly missed.

There was no way anyone could look that beautiful without a ton of effort put in on their part. But then Santana thought of a year ago and how Brittany looked when she was soaked from the rain and make-up washed away. It was entirely possible that Brittany was just naturally and easily flawless.

She watched, pained, as Brittany threw her head back and laughed at something Marley said and the sound wasn't enough to travel to her own ears. It sliced at her already open wound as Paul wrapped his arm around her waist and said something into her ear and she laughed again.

But she couldn't look away. A year and a bit she'd spent trying to force the image of the blonde from slipping through her mental fingers. At times she thought she lost her, others she thought her mind was exaggerating her beauty. She'd been so scared of forgetting Brittany's face and smile that even though it physically hurt her to watch Brittany with Paul she couldn't look away.

Her attention was finally drawn from Brittany when she felt a hand cover her own on the table. She met Quinn's concerned eye as she called Santana's name.

"Yeah?" She asked and mentally shook herself out of the state watching Brittany, happy with someone other than herself, brought on.

"I called your name three times." She felt a squeeze on her hand. "You okay?"

She pulled her hand away before responding. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" She took a long gulp from her straw. "I have myself a drink, the musics not all that bad and the company's pretty good," she looked to Chad who smiled at her comment, "Male persuasion excluded of course. Why would I be anything but amazing?"

"Well I don't know. That's just it though." Quinn huffed. "You have been acting off all day. I know you're not a fan of weddings in general, but this is odd, even for you." Quinn leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "You've been distracted by something."

Santana forced her eyes to remain on Quinn and not to shoot directly over to Brittany. She knew exactly what was distracting her but she didn't want Quinn to know, not yet at least. She never could keep things from Quinn for very long, partially because of the blondes persistance and partially because she was Santana's only resource to vent to.

"I'm fine, seriously. I'm just stressed from work." She lied. It seemed to placate her friend for the time being.

"You won the last case did you not?" Chad asked and Santana smiled at him.

"Yes I did, obviously." She smirked and Quinn rolled her eyes. "But that just opened up tons of other future stressors." Thinking about it made her head pound so she did what any sane girl would do, she tried to forget it. She gulped down the remaining liquid in her glass and looked to the bar.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked but instead of answering her Santana stood and made her way over to the redheaded bartender once more. Again she heard Quinn follow her.

She was able to shake her empty glass at the girl indicating a refill before Quinn caught up with her. Knowing there was no way she was going to avoid this conversation she turned and leaned her elbows on the bar behind her and faced her persistent friend.

"So, are you going to answer me? What's up with you? What's going on at work?" Quinn's hands made their way to her hips and Santana was thrown back in time to their cheerleading days. It had been awhile since she forced Quinn into her Head Cheerleader, no nonsense, persona.

"It's fine." Santana sighed. "Just... Mr. Brackand is retiring at the end of the summer."

"And? How does that add stress to you?" Quinn questioned as she dropped her arms. "It might add to your workload but the firm hasn't ever had problems replacing it's Lawyers before have they?"

"No, but Mr. Brakand is a partner, an old fart at that, but a partner none-the-less."

"So..."

"So," Santana drew out, "They will be looking to replace him. They're looking for another partner." When Quinn still didn't seem to be catching on she rolled her eyes. "And after my win this past week and my track record over the last couple years-"

"Oh my God!" Quinn squealed as she jumped on the spot a little bit, obviously on the same page as Santana at last. "You're kidding right?"

"Afraid not. There's been rumours for a couple of months of his retirement and hints were laid out awhile ago that if I succeeded in this case something beneficial would be coming my way." She turned around and grabbed her finished drink before turning back to Quinn. "I have a meeting with the partners next week."

"What?" Santana only had enough time to hold her drink away from her body before she was attacked. Quinn wrapped her arms around her middle and let another squeal escape her lips. Santana laughed at the feeling and seeing her so well put together best friend lose some of her composure; it was a rare sight.

"Why are you not more excited for this?" Quinn asked as she took a step back, releasing her. Her eyes still sparkled with excitement though. "This is a good thing right?"

"Of course it is." Santana nodded taking a gulp of her drink. "It's just..." Santana bit her bottom lip. "I've worked my ass of, especially this last year."

"But this was the point of all that right?" Quinn interrupted. "This is what Lawyers work for isn't it? To become partner?"

"Yes, I suppose." Santana started walking back to their table when the bartender, who's name remained a mystery, set another glass on the bar. Santana smiled and grabbed the second glass before continuing on. Quinn matched her steps, this time walking beside her. "It's just that I've wondered, when does it stop?"

"Stop?"

"Yeah, I mean I've worked my ass off and now with the title of partner being dangled in front of me I'm going to have to work harder. And it will only get worse, with more responsibilities, if or when I do make partner." Santana stopped before they got within hearing distance of Chad. "I just want to know when it all stops. When is it going to feel worth it? Because I've worked for this, this exact moment, for so long and when it started to become a reality I felt nothing. There was no relief or grande feeling of accomplishment."

"This is a good thing Santana." Quinn placed a comforting hand on her arm. "You should be happy, and proud."

"I know."

She didn't say that she didn't feel those things because she knew Quinn would know without her having to say it. She should be excited, she should be rubbing her success in everyone's faces, but for the first time she didn't want to. It was just another thing in her life, one that she worked for and one that would require her to work harder for in the near future. It wasn't that she wasn't up for the challenge, she knew there was nothing standing in her way of getting partner. She wasn't worried or holding back her excitement until the decision was final because no one else at the firm had the same track record as she had. No one else had as many wins as she did. No one else had as much press surrounding them as she had. It was all but guaranteed.

But what was the point? She was still spending all her time at the office. She barely even saw her friends; it had been two weeks since she'd even talked to Quinn. It had been over two months since she'd been on anything resembling a date. When she did leave the office it was to return to her apartment to sleep for a few hours before leaving once again. She'd once been thankful of the silence her apartment had given her but lately she hated going there. If she could live at the office she would. Her apartment wasn't home to her, it was a place she crashed. It didn't give her any comfort. It was empty.

And that's what she'd been struggling with over the past year. Ever since she learned of Puck's impending wedding and, if she was completely honest with herself, since Brittany walking into her life, she hated how lonely her life actually was.

She used to spend a lot of her time with her friends but that just caused her more heartache as she saw them interacting with or heard them speak of their significant others. They were happy and in love and never had to spend a single night, sitting in a quiet, empty, room begging to fall asleep soon, lest the silence drive them insane.

No matter what she did in her work life, no matter how far she advanced up that ladder, nothing would change the fact that she was returning home each night to a cold, unwelcoming apartment.

The rest of the night consisted of Quinn dropping all serious conversations and getting Santana to relax. She even made sure that Santana's glass was never empty. Santana tried to focus on her friend, she knew Quinn was worried about her and she really wanted Quinn to believe her fussing was helping. To be honest she probably owed her semi-content feeling to the alcohol more than she did to Quinn. But since Quinn was supplying her with the drinks she could definitely take the credit.

She obviously came in contact with Brittany during the night. She'd been approached by Paul into her fifth glass, that was her only time tracker, and he expressed his gratitude to her allowing Brittany to stay with her. When Brittany literally skipped, who does that, over to join him all Santana could think was how the hell could he be okay with her staying anywhere without him for even a single night. If Brittany was hers, she'd never let her out of her sight. Santana politely waved off the gratitude and smiled as she made an excuse to mingle with her highschool friends she hadn't seen in months. She'd practically tackled Mercedes in her rush to get away from the sight of Paul and Brittany's physical closeness.

She watched Brittany throughout the night. She mingled with the guests and from the few conversations she was close enough to overhear she noted that Brittany was just as nice to everyone as she had been to her that night in the cab. It made her heart swell at the same time it felt like it was shattering. She knew Brittany was good, like unbelievably good, and she felt a pride in knowing that; pride in knowing she'd once been the receiver of that kindness. But it shattered her heart as well because it meant that maybe the time spent in the cab wasn't as special to Brittany as it had been to her. Santana had felt such a special connection with Brittany at the time and she never felt that for anyone in her life. But Brittany seemed to have the same kind of connections with everyone. Knowing that their time may not have been as special to Brittany as it had been for her pained her in a way she couldn't even describe.

The drinks were steady and when she was eight glasses in she knew she should slow down. It was about this time when Quinn finally succeeded in dragging Santana onto the dance floor. Santana had long since realized how Brittany affected her and she, with the help of alcohol, had been able to soften the edges of her feelings when she looked at the blonde. It had been two glasses since she realized that although Brittany's presence affected her it had stopped surprising her. She knew that her heart was going to hammer in her chest, she knew that her breath was going to catch so she was able to compose herself, as much as a drunk version of herself could.

She wasn't prepared for the reaction that came next. She thought every reaction had been covered but when the bodies shifted and Brittany became visible for the first time on the dance floor Santana's whole body froze. Her heart didn't just hammer in her chest it actually stopped. When if started up again she had to gasp. She didn't even care that Paul was the one holding her hand or had his other on her hip. She didn't even process the way she was smiling at him. She only watched her. The way her body moved, the way her dress lifted as she was spun, showing the skin that Santana was grateful was once covered. The arch of her neck and the look of pure happiness that showed in her eyes and on her face.

Perfection.

And she felt her knees weaken and her hands began to shake. She left Quinn alone on the dance floor and made her way directly to the bar. The redhead she still didn't know the name of turned to immediately make her drink upon seeing her. Santana knew the flirting would come in handy. She arrived at the bar just as the girl was setting her drink down, smiling widely at Santana.

"Can I get a couple shots of that as well?" Santana asked and added "Beautiful," when she noticed the questioning look on her face. She frowned and looked around for whomever her boss was and then turned and poured a few ounces of straight liquor in to a small glass and set it beside the other drink. There must have been at least three shots worth of alcohol in the glass but Santana didn't hesitate to lift it and down the entire contents. She needed to stop her hands from trembling.

She allowed Quinn to drag her from the bar a few minutes later when she realized Santana had disappeared from the dance floor. They both sat down at their, self designated, table and talked about old times. Santana was thankful for the distraction and over the next few hours she even lost count of what glass she was on.

She realized that time was beginning to skip, one moment she was on the dance floor and couldn't remember how she got there and the other she was seeing how many crème puffs she could stuff into Puck's mouth. She couldn't remember the number and was sure she double counted many of them. The next thing she realized was that she was sitting on a bench outside of the hall and there were way too many loud voices around her. Her skin felt hot and she didn't know if that was due to the alcohol or if the night really hadn't cooled down.

She caught a few words from the voices near her and couldn't even focus enough to figure out who the voices belonged too. She giggled pretending she was a kid in Charlie Brown and the voices were the adults. That explained why she couldn't focus or understand them. She stopped laughing when the realization that Charlie Brown and his friends seemed to be able to understand the adults just fine, so if she was in the cartoon wouldn't she be able to understand them as well?

She shook her head as the confusion settled in and made her head throb.

She didn't know she had said anything until a body was kneeling beside her, hand resting on her knee. "What was that?" Santana lifted her head and stared at a familiar set of hazel eyes.

"I'm not like Charlie Brown." Her voice came out high-pitched and then suddenly she was crying. Why was it she always turned emotional with alcohol? It wasn't fair. All she'd wanted was to have a good time, pester her old classmates and let loose until the stress of the next weeks meeting took over. But then she had to happen. "It's not fair." She heard a voice resembling her own say.

"I know sweetie." she felt hands on her face as the tears were wiped away before her hair was pushed behind her ears. She felt a light touch to the top of her head as, the person she was sure was Quinn, rose. "We're going to get you home, okay?" Santana nodded her head. Her cool bed sheets sounded like a good idea. She suddenly felt tired.

Some murmured conversation occurred and Santana wondered who Quinn was speaking to before Quinn's voice spoke up again, almost pleadingly.

"There's no problem with tonight. It will be fine."

"Don' put off t'day what you can do t'morra'." Santana quipped seriously, trying to be involved in the discussion. She was right there afterall; it was rude to exclude her. She felt the tears about to spill again and she sniffed loudly. But instead of sobs she began to laugh loudly realizing what she had said. "I meanted, don't put off t'morra what you can do t'day," her laughter slowed again, "or t'night. Is night, right?"

The sound of someone elses laughter caused her to smile widely. It sounded nice, like all the rainbows and puppies and bread sticks in the world all packed into one amazing sound.

"See?" She heard Quinn's voice.

"See what?" she asked.

"Not you Santana." That wasn't nice, she was leaving her out of the conversation again. "And don't pout, it's annoying."

"I think it's cute." She knew that voice but she couldn't place it in her memory. All she knew was that it sounded almost as good as the rainbow, puppy, bread stick laugh, and that it was on her side.

She nodded her head pointedly at Quinn, who sighed loudly for some reason. "All your stuff is already here, there is no sense in you taking it back to Puck's just to lug it all over in the morning."

"Maybe, you're right. I just don't want to get in the way if she's not feeling well or anything." Santana started humming, she hummed when she was happy and that voice made her happy. Wasn't she crying a minute ago? It happened again, she couldn't remember the last few minutes and had lost interest in the conversation except to listen to the voices, or one in particular.

"I'd feel better if someone was there actually."

"Worry wart," Santana blurted, resorting to her childhood nickname for her friend, "worry fart." She finished and smiled widely up at Quinn. "Re-" she hicoughed, "-memembers?"

"Yes, Santana I remember." But then her attention was drawn to another body beside her. Must be the owner of the other voice. It was weird, she hadn't thought of the voice having a body before, which was silly of course, unless the voice was coming from a ghost. "Please? I'll come over first thing in the morning but I have a few guests that decided Santana was a good influence and I can't leave them all to Chad to look after."

"Alright, I guess she shouldn't be left alone in this state. I wouldn't feel right at this point anyway."

"Great!" She watched as Quinn turned and winced as she raised her voice. "Chad can you take these to the car?"

There was a few more words spoken but none of the voices were the good sounding one so Santana tuned them out.

"Wake up Sweetie." Santana fluttered her eyes open when she felt a hand on her cheek. She looked around her in confusion. They were in a car, when did she get into a car? "You're home."

She didn't recognize anything around her but she trusted Quinn not to leave her laying in some random alley. It was something they might think up to do to Kitty, but never to each other. SHe let Quinn guide, or practically carry, her into the elevator of her apartment building and down the hall to her door. She couldn't seem to get her legs to work. Jelly legs. She was too tired to really care about anything at that moment but was aware of another person following them into her apartment.

Quinn directed Santana immediately to her room where she helped her out of her dress and into a tank top and shorts. Santana didn't know why Quinn was the one grumbling, she was the one trying to sleep as the other girl poked and prodded and pulled at her body. Finally Quinn left, leaving her door ajar, slightly letting some light into the room from the hallway. The last thing she heard before falling asleep was a quiet conversation coming from the other room and then her front door closing and hearing the lock click into place.

She wasn't sure how much longer it was when she was woken by a noise close to her head. She blinked back the fogginess in her eyes and saw a glass on her nightstand, water in it still shifting. The next thing she saw was a hand placing some pills beside the glass. Santana groaned at the scratchy feeling in her throat but couldn't find the energy to move or sit up to drink the water at the moment.

She felt the bed dip as someone sat down. She closed her eyes and hummed as she felt fingers running through her hair, massaging her scalp. It eased some of the throbbing in her head and she buried herself further into her pillow and drifted off again. She didn't even bother wondering who the person had been.

She next woke up from a coughing fit. It jolted her awake and the tears in her eyes burned as sleep was ripped from her. She noted how rough her throat felt and reached for the nightstand. She briefly wondered why there was a glass of water and how she knew it was there even before seeing it but didn't question too hard as the semi-warm liquid slipped passed her lips. It took a few swallows before the pain of her throat subsided and she reached to place the glass back where she got it. It was then that she noticed a couple of Advil sitting in the same spot. She felt the strumming in her skull and could only imagine it was growing worse from the coughing and grabbed the two pills and downed the rest of the water in the glass before laying down once more and drifting off for some more much needed sleep.

it was light when she woke for the last time and she winced at the sunlight leaking through her curtains. Her head pounded mercilessly and she sat up carefully once her eyes became less sensitive to the light. She wasn't sure how hung over she was and although she rarely was sick she didn't trust any sharp movements. Her left hand shot out to the nightstand and grabbed the glass that was there, without her looking. She switched the glass to her right hand without thinking and reached out to grab the pills that were there, popping them into her mouth immediately and chasing them with many gulps of the water in the glass. She got a slight deja vu feeling as she finished the task and couldn't help but think she'd questioned the presense of the items once before.

She tried to think of the night before and could only remember bits and pieces. She knew she'd attended Puck's wedding and reception. But other than that everything was fuzzy. She was sure her flashes of memory involving someone sneaking into her room, multiple times throughout the night, to brush the hair out of her face or to rub her back were dreams if anything. She lived alone, no one would be sneaking into her room.

She slowly moved into a standing position and leaned on her nightstand to stay upright as she swayed. The throbbing in her head increased as her system tried to pump blood to her still useless brain and limbs.

She needed to text Quinn and ask what the hell happened last night. But first, she needed coffee pronto.

She walked down the hall and into her kitchen and groaned as the light from her bay window hit in on her face. She couldn't remember opening the blinds but that wasn't important at the moment. She took a step towards the coffee pot but jumped back as a noise by her stove scared her. She looked up after realizing nothing was attacking her and saw a frying pan on the stove top. She knew she hadn't left it there because she never ate in her apartment if she could help it. She certainly never cooked here. She could see the handle of the pan bobbing up and down and realized that was the noise she heard; it was the pan being set down, or dropped onto the stove.

Her immediate reaction was to look for whomever placed the pan on the stove. She was surprised to see pair of pale legs beside her stove and realized she was still partially drunk as she wasn't able to process nearly as fast as she needed at the moment.

Her eyes traveled up the legs to shorts and tank top that was not unlike her own attire and then to the intruder's face. She literally stumbled when her right knee gave out at the sight of ice-blue eyes that were studying her. She internally cursed her buzzing nerves for her jittery state. But before she could hit the ground she felt a pair of hands wrap around her midsection and steady her. When she looked up she was met with the smiling face of Brittany.

What the hell was she doing here and what in the world happened last night?

* * *

_Hope you liked it :)_


End file.
